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City residents should be on the lookout this week for a letter from the Ojai Department of Public Works, because they might need flood insurance they didn't know about before. The latest revisions proposed for flood maps prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are currently on review, with public outreach meetings scheduled for the Ojai Valley later in October.

“A letter is going out this week to all residents affected by the revised FEMA floodplain maps,” Ojai Public Works Director Greg Grant said Oct. 5. “Ojai property owners should be concerned, primarily because of the way this will affect flood insurance requirements and costs.”

Based on extensive engineering studies, the preliminary maps were first issued in April. Grant said they indicate new dimensions for floodplains and floodways alike. “If you live on a floodplain now, and if you have a federally backed loan, then you'll probably have to get flood insurance,” he said.